Cheesecake, and especially the New York-style cheesecake, benefit from both a long established tradition and from a renewed consumer's attention, probably due to organoleptic properties with a complex taste of acid and cheese notes, combined with a unique creamy mouthfeel.
Cheesecakes are usually processed from scratch by mixing the ingredients rapidly followed by a gentle baking stage, preferably using “Bain-Marie”. Baking results in the setting (jellification) of the ingredients mix.
However, the quality and/or properties of these ‘home-made’ cheesecakes present variations and their baking may result into cracks on the surface of the baked cheesecake in an unpredictable manner, especially in the case of too rapid heating.
In addition, the ingredients, when mixed, must be baked rapidly, or kept refrigerated, as microbiologically acceptable conditions and stability towards oxidation of the resulting product are poor.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,772 discloses a ready-to-use cheesecake filling mix comprising milk, cream, eggs, but no cheese. However, this mix must be stored at refrigeration temperatures or even frozen to avoid product degradation.
GB 2 032 241 discloses a ready-to-use cheesecake comprising cream cheese, sugar, water, stabilizers and optional ingredients, but no eggs. This composition is not intended for baking.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,884 discloses a ready-to-bake cheesecake batter, which can be stored at refrigerated temperatures. However, no eggs are present in this batter.
Philadelphia ready-to-eat cheesecake filling (XP-002649655) discloses a composition comprising cream cheese, whey proteins, sugar, stabilizers and other optional ingredients, but no eggs. This composition must be stored chilled and is not intended for baking.
DE 30 05 866 discloses an antioxidant-free ready-to-bake cheesecake filling comprising cheese having a dry mass of 29-31%, sugar, 3.97% eggs and stabilizers. However, this composition is not stable at room-temperature.
Dry mixes for cheesecake were developed. However, there is a need to further rehydrate these dry mixes before use. Moreover, these dry mixes often present a less pleasant taste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,709 discloses a dry mix for a cheesecake made of spray dried cheese and of vegetable fat, but with no eggs. This mix is therefore not ready-to-bake.
Accordingly, there is still a need to develop a mix for cheesecake, possibly in the form of a ready-to use (ready-to-bake) filling that is both stable, especially at room-temperature, and that retains after baking all the organoleptic advantages of the cheesecake made from scratch.